Accountability does not stop with minors involved in crimes.

In light of the Tacloban school shooting incident that killed three students and injured 11 others, the juvenile justice law is now in the spotlight again.

Contrary to disinformation, minors tagged in offenses are still liable under the law — either through a social welfare intervention or criminal complaints.

But apart from the punishment against the young offenders, did you know that parents and guardians — and even schools — may face legal actions for minors’ wrongdoings?

Punishment for adults

Three separate laws provide punishment for adults due to crimes committed by minors under their care.

Family law practitioner and University of the Philippines College of Law professor Flordeliza Vargas told Rappler that under Article 101 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), as amended, the civil liability for an offense may be shifted to the parents or guardians who have legal authority and control over the erring minor.

“In cases of subdivisions 1, 2, and 3 of article 12, the civil liability for acts committed by an imbecile or insane person, and by a person under nine years of age, or by one over nine but under fifteen years of age, who has acted without discernment, shall devolve upon those having such person under their legal authority or control, unless it appears that there was no fault or negligence on their part,” RPC’s Article 101 states.

Punishment for criminal liability means a person may be imprisoned or pay a fine for a criminal offense that he/she committed. Civil liability, meanwhile, is a legal obligation that mandates a party to pay another party compensation or other remedies due to the harm he/she has caused.

In other words, a person held civilly liable won’t be jailed.

Notably, while Republic Act (RA) No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, as amended by RA No. 10630, provides exemptions from criminal liability for minors, it does not exempt them from the civil aspect of their offenses.

“The exemption from criminal liability herein established does not include exemption from civil liability, which shall be enforced in accordance with existing laws,” said the law’s Section 6.

For certain crimes, a person may be held liable both criminally and civilly.

“Our law states that every person criminally liable for a felony is also civilly liable,” said the Supreme Court in Dy v. People of the Philippines in 2016.

More sources of penalties

Even the Family Code — which contains the laws governing marriage, family, and relationships — provides possible punishment for adults, according to National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers president Ephraim Cortez.

“Parents and other persons exercising parental authority shall be civilly liable for the injuries and damages caused by the acts or omissions of their unemancipated children living in their company and under their parental authority subject to the appropriate defenses provided by law,” says the law’s Article 221.

Unemancipated child means a minor who’s still dependent on his/her parents and is legally under his/her parent’s authority.

But this separate civil action must be filed and pursued by the other party against the offending party. In the Tacloban shooting’s case, the guardians of the deceased children — if they want to — may inititiate civil action against the guardians of the erring minors.

Even the Civil Code itself spells out the parents’ liability. Article 2180 of the Civil Code states: “Guardians are liable for damages caused by the minors or incapacitated persons who are under their authority and live in their company.”

But parents can defend themselves if they can show that they exercised the diligence of being a good parent of a family to “prevent the damage such as providing the child proper moral guidance, discipline or that they could not have reasonably foreseen the act committed by the minor,” said Vargas.

“They [parents] are expected to have supervised and disciplined their child to act accordingly, teach them values etc. That is why they can raise the defense that they exercised the diligence of a good father of a family,” she added.

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Even schools may be liable

The Civil Code’s Article 2180 also states that school officials may be held liable for offenses committed by minors under their control.

“Lastly, teachers or heads of establishments of arts and trades shall be liable for damages caused by their pupils and students or apprentices, so long as they remain in their custody,” the Article 2180 states.

“When kids go to school, the parents transfer their parental authority to the school authorities and teachers who exercise special parental authority,” Vargas told Rappler.

Like parents, school officials can defend themselves by arguing that they observed due diligence to prevent damage. – Rappler.com